Welcome back to my first Author Chat interview for 2020. Today I’m thrilled to be featuring Romance Author, Jacquie Biggar here today with her latest book – NEW RELEASE – Sunset Beach, Book 2 in the Blue Haven series. Jacquie has quite a collection of hot sellers on her shelves so I’m excited to have her over today and introduce you to her and her work.
About the Author:
Jacquie Biggar is a USA Today bestselling author of romance who loves to write about tough, alpha males and strong, contemporary women willing to show their men that true power comes from love. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and loves to hear from readers all over the world!
In her own words:
“My name is Jacquie Biggar. When I’m not acting like a total klutz, I am a wife, mother of one, grandmother, and a butler to my calico cat.
My guilty pleasures are reality TV shows like Amazing Race and The Voice. I can be found every Monday night in my armchair plastered to the television laughing at Blake and Adam’s shenanigans.
I love to hang at the beach with DH (darling hubby) taking pictures or reading romance
novels (what else?).
I have a slight Tim Hortons obsession, enjoy gardening, everything pink and talking to my friends.”
Blurb:
An explosive secret threatens the peace and tranquility of Sweetheart Cove.
Single father Trace Michaels has his hands full coping with a rebellious teenage daughter, troublesome ex-wife, and campaigning for the mayor’s election. He doesn’t have time to get distracted by an old flame from his past– one he’s never forgotten.
When an unknown source leaks surprising news that could damage his career, Trace turns to the one person he trusts for the truth.
Single mother Mona Samuels knows how difficult it can be to raise a daughter. She
empathizes with Trace, but when he comes to her for advice, she’s conflicted. They say the truth will set you free but unburying the past could destroy everything she’s worked so hard to build.
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Debby, thank you for inviting me to your lovely blog! Your questions were interesting and made me think, lol.
Thrilled to have you over Jacquie. Happy to share a bit about you and your writing here today, and of course your newest release! So let’s get down to it!
Do some of your own character traits or personal experiences spill into your book’s characters?
I use my husband’s traits more than my own. He has a wicked sense of humor and can always pull me out of a bad mood with just a few words or one of his songs (he likes to make up lyrics from famous songs- it’s a hoot!).
As for personal experiences, I’ve written about type 1 Diabetes (my grandson was diagnosed with at age seven), Dementia (my grandma had this for five years before she passed away), and cooking (I owned a restaurant for many years).
I think personal experiences enrich our writing because we know what the characters are going through and can build empathy with our audiences.
D.G. – I have to believe that all writers take from their own experiences and work them into stories. It’s always fun learning about the conception of our stories.
What hobbies do you enjoy when not writing?
DH and I both love gardening. We are full-time RVers, so our yard is postage stamp sized, but that doesn’t stop us from filling it with a range of plants from apples to cherry, apricot, Asian pear, plum, kiwi, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, fig and nectarine, along with my roses, hydrangeas, wisteria, trumpet vines, herbs and more! And they’re all grown in planter pots as we’re not allowed to dig into the soil in the park where we stay.
D.G. – Okay, that is just amazing!
What are your writing goals for this year?
I’m trying to publish a book every month or other month to see if it helps build up my
readership. I have several series going and I would like to see them done, or in the case of Wounded Hearts (7 books so far) added to before I lose the fans who love that series.
It’s a tough balance to keep up with one series when you have so many other ideas and commitments to fulfill. My ultimate goal for the year is to create at least two more box sets of my own books and get them listed in Kindle Unlimited. It’s surprising how many readers prefer to read box sets.
D.G. – Wow you are such a powerhouse Jacquie. I commend you on the way you discipline yourself and the way you can churn out your books!
What’s the worst part of publishing for you and why?
The hardest part of publishing is definitely getting reviews. I don’t mind marketing; I usually sign up for a book tour, do some newsletter crossovers, use paid ads, and of course, post regularly on Facebook groups. But asking for reviews feels a lot like begging and I hate that.
I’ve slowly built up a review crew through my newsletter of almost four hundred people, but even then, as you can see by my reviews, a lot of them either read the book and don’t post their review, or they don’t ask for the book in the first place.
I’m much happier gaining organic reviews, though it’s a sloooow process!
D.G. – I hear you girl! Reviews are truly an author’s gold, sadly, many readers don’t get that.
Do you have a difficult time choosing titles for your books? How do you choose your titles?
Interesting question. My titles come to me in different ways. Sometimes, like Tidal Falls, it’s the setting of the book, and other times, like The Sheriff Meets His Match, it’s the theme of the story. If none of those work, I turn to song titles. You can’t use lyrics as they are copyrighted, but titles fall under public domain and can be inspirational to your story.
My upcoming release, Sunset Beach, falls under the first category. It takes place on the small island of Blue Haven in the Pacific Northwest and uses my personal experience as a restaurant owner as one of the main settings in the story.
D.G. – Sounds fabulous! Funny how a certain place or time can spur a whole book. Thanks so much for sharing some of your creativity with us today.
Jacquie is tempting us now with an excerpt from her hot new release!
Excerpt
His eyes, those gorgeous blue orbs she’d dreamed of, stared at her with such a deep intensity butterflies took flight in her tummy. She hadn’t been this close to Trace in years. Her vision blurred, caught in a time warp between past and present. He smelled the same, an intoxicating mix of pine and sun and ocean breezes. She remembered the night she’d given him her virginity, the night she fell in love.
“Do you ever go back to Sunset Beach,” she asked, half afraid of what his answer might be. If he’d ever taken…
“No,” he answered, his voice rumbling over her emotions the way his feet had done to her heart. “Do you?”
Her laugh lacked humor. “Back to my biggest mistake? Not likely.” She was being
deliberately cruel but couldn’t help it. He’d ruined her for anyone else that summer—it wasn’t fair.
He tipped her chin up, his thumb close to her bottom lip, causing those butterflies to beat themselves against the walls of her chest. “I still remember everything about that night. You wore a pretty white dress and your hair was done up in a ponytail. I wanted to wrap my hand in it and kiss you senseless.”
“I think you did.” She smiled, caught up in the memories he wove like a master tailor. “I
knew what you were up to with that blanket and picnic hamper, but I didn’t care. The great Trace Michaels wanted me—I could barely believe it was happening.”
He brushed his thumb over her lip, igniting the embers of a long-ago fire. “We were good together, Mona. I’m sorrier than you can ever know that I screwed it up.”
She yanked free, angry and embarrassed at her weakness. “Screwed Sally, you mean? You were a free agent, it didn’t matter.” Or so she’d spent the next ten years trying to convince herself. “It’s all water under the bridge now anyway. I’d sooner stick to the subject at hand. What are you going to do about the spa?”
His dark brows drew together, and he opened his mouth as though he had something to say, before letting it snap shut. Instead, he leaned back, crossed his leg over his knee, and took a sip of his coffee before eyeing her over the rim of the cup. “I think I’ll leave the politics for the debate table. After all, you’ve known for some time who your opponent would be, I need time to study mine.” He tipped his cup at her and winked.
Follow Jacquie on Social Media:
Amazon | Website | Facebook | Newsletter
Twitter | Pinterest | GoodReads | Bookbub
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